On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Tricky
July 13, 1998
The Guvernment, Toronto, ON

It's probably safe to say Tricky is no longer the darling of his record company. He rants against Polygram, picks fights with journalists, and continues to produce music that's less and less accessible to the masses. In fact, his recent Toronto show was moved from the Warehouse to the smaller-capacity Guvernment (apparently due to poor ticket sales), but the move turned out to be a blessing for the fans who've stuck with him through the club maze and the dark days. Sure the place was packed to the brim and sweltering, but the claustrophobic atmosphere only added to the show's intensity.

The Trickster opened the show, spliff in hand, with a decidedly bizarre cover of "Heart of Glass": while a background vocalist sang the breathy chorus, he shouted "Gonna chew you up like bubble gum!" over and over again against a menacing beat. Perhaps he knew of the current troubles in the Blondie fold, or maybe he was just trying to set the tone for an evening that alternated the sublime with the insane. Relatively tame crowd-pleasing earlier material like "Overcome" and "Pumpkin" was set off against later "tunes" like "Tear Out my Eyes," which usually turned into extended psychotic jams as the percussionist played like he was trying to break all of his drums at once. All the while, Tricky shook incessantly, contorted his body, chanted surreal slogans, and puffed away.

Those who caught his last performance in Toronto will remember Tricky's penchant for performing in total darkness; fortunately, the band was backlit in blue for most of the show, so it was a little different from being at a CD-listening party in a big closet with hundreds of your closest friends. Still, the essential lack of a light show and the loss of Martine, Tricky's musical better half and his match for gyrating on-stage intensity, took away from what could have been a more involving show. Vocalists Denise Ellington and Carmen Ejogo did their best to fill the gap, but Tricky didn't even attempt "Black Steel" or "Makes Me Wanna Die" without Martine's unearthly, unsettling vocals.

Despite the show's uneven nature, it's important to note that unlike another incredibly prolific Artist who shall go nameless, Tricky isn't fond of compromising his vision. A little more self-editing might come in handy, especially on stage, but hey -- the man's been a solo act for only about three years. Few have come so far in that span of time, and fewer still have the potential to go farther. If Tricky can hold off on a little of his biting the hand that feeds him, he ought to achieve some post-millennial release for his pre-millenial tension.